Dell Inspiron 14z: First Impressions

Is it an ultrabook? That is the first question that came to mind when we saw the Dell Inspiron 14z, but then we remembered the Samsung Series 5 ultrabook. And that is when the puzzle seemed to solve itself! It’s thicker than most ultrabooks, and features an optical drive.

This is the second ultrabook from Dell, after the superlative Dell XPS 13 (read our review) offering. However, the Inspiron 14z isn’t as slim and sleek as its elder cousin. The critical bit is the inclusion of the optical drive, just like the Samsung Series 5 (read our review). Dell say that this will be a mainstream ultrabook, and we expect it to be priced somewhere around the Series 5 from Samsung – we are looking at a price tag between Rs. 55,000 to Rs. 60,000. The XPS 13 will probably remain the company’s high end product in the segment.

Here are some first impressions:

• The red colour will not appeal to anyone!
• Letting that go, the build quality is impressive. It didn’t seem to have any “budget” elements to the feel and experience of using it.
• Comfortable keyboard, and the touchpad has generous real estate space.
• Feels like what will essentially be a slim laptop, but that is because this has an optical drive as well.
• The generous cooling vents at the bottom are appreciated, something that is carried forward from the XPS 13.

We will get the Dell Inspiron 14z soon for review, but in the meantime, you can check out some images of the product.

These are the specification details of the Inspiron 14z ultrabook, exactly as shared by Dell.

• Beautiful aluminum finish in Moon Silver or optional Fire Red
• Standard 2nd Gen Intel Core i3 with HD Graphics 3000 or available 3rd Gen Intel Core i5 and i7 CPUs and HD Graphics 4000 pack plenty of performance into this surprisingly slim chassis
  • 2nd Generation Intel Core i3-2367M processor (3MB cache, up to 1.4GHz) (standard)
  • 3rd Generation Intel Core i5-3317U processor (3MB cache, up to 2.6GHz)
  • 3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3517U processor (4MB cache, up to 3.0GHz)
• Memory options from 2GB (standard) up to 8GB dual channel memory
• Hard drive options from 500GB with 32GB mSATA option to 128Gb SSD options
• AMD Radeon HD 7570M with 1GB GDDR5 graphics (option with Core i5 and i7 configuration)
• 35.56 cm (14) high definition (720p) WLED display (1366x768 standard)
• Battery life up to 7 hrs 30 min (with Intel Core i3 processor, 6MB memory and 320GB hard drive)
• Waves MaxxAudio 3 audio; Skullcandy speakers
• Intel Smart Response Technology quickly recognizes and caches most frequently used files and applications, allowing quick access
• Intel Rapid Start Technology boots in seconds; resumes in seconds; saves power when sleeping.
• Intel Wireless Display supports streaming 1080p & 5.1 surround sound wirelessly
• HDMI 1.4a output for HD entertainment and HD aspect Webcam with pre-loaded Skype
• USB 3.0 (1); USB 3.0 PowerShare (1); RJ45 Ethernet; HDMI v1.4; 3-in-1 media card reader; Bluetooth 4.0
• Height: 20.7mm – 21mm; Width: 347mm; Depth: 240mm
• Weight: Starting at 1.87 Kg